Skip to main content

A Review of “The Green Knight (2021)“

 

image

I love the Arthurian legend but most stories concerning it in TV and film is mostly about the titular King Arthur. However, The Green Knight is focused on one of the knights instead, Sir Gawain. The premise is “King Arthur’s headstrong nephew embarks on a daring quest to confront the Green Knight, a mysterious giant who appears at Camelot. Risking his head, he sets off on an epic adventure to prove himself before his family and court”. So is Sir Gawain’s story worth telling or should we just go back to King Arthur?

image

Firstly, this movie is visually stunning. The cinematography by Andrew Droz Palermo is gorgeous and very magical. Almost every single shot in this film is like a painting and that alone makes it feel very fantastical. The lighting is also something to admire. At the beginning of the journey is a dreary, gloomy colour of the towns but it then goes to the green and grey forest that feels haunting yet beautiful. As the movie progress, it starts to become more colourful to signify the journey’s end but also the more fantasy elements. The world itself is so interesting to watch as well. Many weird magical elements occur in this (that I won’t spoil) that is just so oddly fascinating to watch. The music score by Daniel Hart is also phenomenal. It always complements the scene, the story and the world of The Green Knight. It is occasionally eerie but also sometimes has a fantastical flair to it that is just a blessing to listen to.

image

Dev Patel is the main lead and plays Sir Gawain. He does an amazing job as he perfectly conveys the struggle and the toll this journey takes on Gawain. Ralph Ineson is also remarkable as the Green Knight as Ralph gives a powerful voice that feels creepy but not downright villainous that exactly fits the character. The rest of the supporting cast all do a good job as well. Special mention goes to Sean Harris as the King who gives a convincing wise old man performance and Barry Keoghan who is just very ominous in his performance. Another thing I love about this film is the real mystery throughout the story. There are a fair amount of obstacles and weird scenarios that occur in Gawain’s journey that are just intriguing to dissect. You end up questioning a lot about what is real or not. The film never outright explains everything, so it is up to us to try and solve or interpret the trials which are enjoyable to do. There is also the constant theme about honour and bravery that sounds simple on paper but is handle here in a more provocative manner that just works.

image

However, the film not explaining everything results in way too many questions. The movie doesn’t even explain why the Green Knight exist or why it is even there? The film does imply that it was the result of witches but if this is the case then what was the motive of the witches in doing that? Not explaining the titular character’s is very problematic as now we have to go through assumptions of their motive instead of a proper confirmation. There is also a lot of just weird stuff that happens with no proper explanation and you’re just going to have to accept it when watching this. Due to this, I can understand The Green Knight turning people off because it is intentionally vague on nearly everything. Additionally, this is an incredibly slow-burning movie. It goes at a very slow snail pace with a lot of scenes of Gawain walking or riding or even just genuinely nothing. The Green Knight is at 130 minutes long and honestly, it didn’t need to be that long considering the number of shots of literally nothing.

image

Overall, The Green Knight is not a movie for everyone. It is an artistic and slow movie but it is a very unique movie that tells a profound story about honour. Well, that is how I interpret it and if you watch this then you may interpret it differently. Sir Gawain’s story was an interesting one and I hope for tales like this from the Arthurian legend.

image


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A “QUICK!” Review of “The Prosecutor (2024)”

  The Prosecutor is an interesting film, as it’s actually a legal-focused thriller first and foremost, with the martial arts action coming second. I found this blend of genres to work surprisingly well, and I give Donnie props for trying something different. The movie features a phenomenal opening action sequence and an incredible climactic one too. When it comes to the action scenes, you definitely won’t be disappointed. However, the legal aspect—which makes up the majority of the film—is unfortunately a bit lacklustre and predictable. I wish the courtroom scenes had explored more of the complexities of the justice system and delivered more intense drama. It didn’t help that the villain was incredibly one-dimensional. Still, it’s an entertaining action movie overall, and this film does show that Donnie knows how to handle action.
Post a Comment
Read more

A “QUICK!” Review of “65 (2023)”

  I love Dinosaurs I also love Sci-Fi However, this Dinosaur and Sci-Fi movie doesn’t work. There is barely any plot, barely any character depth, and a severe lack of dialogue. I don’t know why the writer made the characters unable to speak the same language because it just hinders the character interactions. They don’t even explain what mission our main character was on and why the girl was there. It also has a lot of questionable things such as why a futuristic ship couldn’t sense an asteroid belt, yet the main character has a sensor that works great on the ground. The director and writer don’t make us care enough about anything. So you should not care to watch this.
Post a Comment
Read more

A “QUICK!” Review of “Heart Eyes (2025)”

  Heart Eyes has the makings of a really cool modern slasher character. The killer’s design is pretty cool, and the concept of killing couples on Valentine’s Day is a novel idea. The movie even starts off well with some creative kills. However, the movie goes downhill from there. It turns into an incredibly corny romcom—the dialogue is sappy, and the characters feel cartoonish. The movie then whiplashes between romance and horror, as if suddenly remembering there’s a killer on the loose. At one point, in the middle of a chase, the characters start opening up to each other—which was definitely not the time. Meanwhile, the killer becomes increasingly incompetent, failing to take out the main characters. The comedy doesn’t land, the romance is bland, but the kills are at least enjoyable. Just don’t go into this expecting a full-on slasher horror movie.    
Post a Comment
Read more